Alisa Cooper, who grew up in Atlantic City and serves on the state's Casino Control Commission, can cite many personal and professional highlights - including, having talked her way into a chance to interview two of the most famous people on earth in 1969: John Lennon, and Yoko Ono.

A Collingswood group energized by local controversies about whether to allow backyard chickens and Airbnbs, and whether a tattoo parlor belongs on Haddon Avenue, is raising questions about the longstanding structure and practices of borough government.

ADT has purchased Bucks County-based LifeShield from founder Mark Hagan's firm for $25 million, which is not much more than LifeShield raised from prominent local investors over the years. The company's previous owners include DirectTV, AT&T and Hagan's investment company, which he calls Hawk,...